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The Star
30-04-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Singapore GE2025: Banners, banter and ballots – a tale of four constituencies
SINGAPORE: The people of East Coast GRC are used to choice. Daily, they have their pick of the 'big three' hawker centres in Bedok – at blocks 16, 58 and 216 – and soignee Joo Chiat cafes, newly drawn into the GRC. Nightly, cocktails at modish bar Santai or supper in the noirish light of Simpang Bedok. So, too, politically. Since 2006, the eastern idyll has flirted with the opposition in a near quarter-century game of 'will they, won't they' – always returning a credible result, but no prize, for the WP. Leaning against a BMW coupe in Siglap, a resident considers his options: White or blue, 'it's a win-win for us'. The project manager in his 40s, who gives his name as Lim, is undecided on his vote. His dilemma is personal. A Joo Chiat resident, he is part of the 40,675 electors hived off from the old Marine Parade GRC, familiar with the rival leaders of the PAP and WP teams. 'For Edwin Tong, he's done a lot. The cleanliness of the roads, the infrastructure, the new Siglap Community Club,' says Lim. 'But I also like Yee Jenn Jong. He's humble, present. I always see him.' Culture, Community and Youth Minister Edwin Tong (second from right) with (from left) PAP's East Coast GRC candidate Hazlina Abdul Halim and retired PAP MP Cheryl Chan greeting residents during a walkabout at 85 Fengshan Centre on April 25. - ST The Culture, Community and Youth Minister, Tong, has for a decade been the MP for the comfortable suburb, while the WP man has run in Joo Chiat since 2011. Yee lost by a hair of 388 votes that year, when it was a single seat. And he 'never left' the turf, says Lim. It is ground the two brand name parties seem to think sweet. The WP withdrew from the recast Marine Parade GRC once the ward was split from it. The PAP is likely hoping it will tip East Coast a touch whiter after its bruising narrow win in 2020. The tree-lined streets of Telok Kurau give little away. Here on a Saturday in mid-April, pampered pooches – some in strollers – have compelled their owners into a community pet walk. The 'guest of honour' is Tong, whom a spiffy-looking resident calls 'Edwin' as he goes in for a handshake. The minister is in jeans and breezy short sleeves, relaxed attire that puts him right at home with his friendly constituents. Then, four attendees interviewed confess indecision. Voters in the silk-stockinged enclave say Yee, who came out of retirement to run, is a strong contender, but lifelong Simei resident Sea, 27, says WP has fielded its second string. Go farther east, it seems, and the talk gets louder, positions firmer. At the smoking corner of a Bedok coffee shop, two men, both around 60, have flipped their colours. One, a retired sales and marketing man, will vote PAP, sensing a drift into two-party politics. 'I have never voted for them, but I'm very worried they will lose the two-thirds,' he says, referring to the parliamentary supermajority that gives a ruling government the ability to amend the Constitution. 'The world is in a very challenging time and I realised the opposition is being very populist.' Besides, he says, Tong brought in Coldplay. The other, forced into entrepreneurship after losing his job, will go blue for the first time. 'When Lee Kuan Yew was in power, I would vote PAP any time,' he says. In usually mealy-mouthed Singapore, East Coast residents seem to need no prodding to talk politics. At a pub in Simpang Bedok – where the waitress still calls you 'sayang' – an 80-year-old retired businessman lets forth in Hokkien on the ills of the group representation constituency system. One week from Polling Day, at the Block 58 marketplace, the WP team is on an early morning walkabout. In under five minutes, four people approach Mr Yee to pump his hand and wish him luck. He dips his head to listen to them, revealing a sparse combover. His younger associate, Jasper Kuan, talks policy with two attentive middle-aged women. They bow and thank each other after – 'for listening', 'for trying'. Still, there are quieter declarations. At the wet market, a cosmetics store displays a small PAP flag. End to end, the temperament of each neighbourhood differs, first subtly, then starkly. In Simei, residents keep to themselves and the coffee shops have no need for banners, ubiquitous in Bedok, exhorting diners to keep it down. But as any 'Eastie' worth his salt, like Simei native and musician Lim, will tell you: 'I'm a bit irritated that it's the PAP slogan, but east side really best side.' While East Coast voters thrive on the thrill of contest and the luxury of political choice, just a short distance away in Marine Parade, the mood could not be more different. On a Saturday morning in the middle of April, residents file into Marine Terrace Market, trailed by the brassy chords of a busker's harmonica. Above the ambient chatter, hawkers dish out bowls of lontong and plates of chee cheong fun. The morning's tranquillity is punctuated by the giddy roar of the nearby town carnival. Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, who many assumed before Nomination Day would lead the Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC team at the 2025 polls, ascends the stage to launch a new five-year masterplan for the town. Dr Tan is no stranger here. In recent weeks, he seems to have redoubled efforts in the neighbourhood, going door to door to meet constituents every other day. The message is clear: He is gearing up for a showdown. For weeks now, there have been signs. Hawkers in Marine Terrace report an uptick in politician sightings. In MacPherson, the WP's new face, Harpreet Singh, was spotted walking the ground in March. The sleepy district has stood staunchly behind the PAP's Tin Pei Ling since 2015, with 71.74 per cent of voters casting their ballots for her in the 2020 General Election. Still, a sense of restlessness hums in the air. In an ageing estate buffeted by rising prices, residents are hungry for change. Down south, resident Christopher Lim, 34, is looking forward to a fight. 'Of course, as voters, we love a little bit of excitement, especially if it's in our backyard,' he says. Then April 23 arrives. The PAP team turns up at the nomination centre at Kong Hwa School, but Dr Tan is missing from their ranks. And the WP is a no-show. Retired freelance consultant Jane Goh, 63, is on a ferry back from Batam when she hears about the walkover. To her, it feels like a slap. 'It's the last-minute nature of the switch that shocks us.' Lim feels Dr Tan should have stuck around longer to build a stronger rapport with residents. 'I think it's important to understand that our trust in the PAP MPs is derived from a longstanding political legacy that is rooted in consistent performance,' he says. Some residents confront the WP's East Coast team during their walkabouts in the neighbouring ward. Others vent their frustrations online, with one comment reading: 'Don't nd to bother come back here. I will not vote for u (sic).' 'It's no good,' mutters 70-year-old retiree Ray Chang, shaking his head. 'No contest is like eating rice without fish.' Food delivery man Noor Hidayat, 49, says he will be spending the weekend of May 3 in Kuala Lumpur and Melaka. 'Don't need to vote, that means can go on holiday already lah!' By the end of Nomination Day, the rest of Singapore is draped in the relevant paraphernalia. In Still Road, a banner of the WP's East Coast GRC team has unfurled. But on the other side of the border, the lamp posts remain bare. As Marine Parade's political drama fades into anti-climax, the pulse of the election beats on in the heartland of the west. Just before 8am on a Saturday morning, a small crowd is gathered at Teban Gardens Food Centre, waiting to celebrate the birthday of an 85-year-old man. Sandwiched between Pandan Reservoir and the Ayer Rajah Expressway in Singapore's west coast, the estate feels a little off the beaten track – the nearest MRT station is a good 20-minute bus ride away in Jurong East. Over at AJ Cooked Food Stall in the food centre, Choa Sian Choon, 58, watches the morning's unusual bustle with quiet curiosity. 'I've been working here six months, but I've never seen them before,' says the cook, nodding at the group of about 20 people clad in bright red PSP polo shirts. 'The other ones, I see them around once a week. They're familiar faces,' he says, referring to the PAP volunteers who make regular rounds. When the stall's owner mentions that a birthday celebration is about to kick off, Choa perks up. Teban Gardens is in the heart of Ayer Rajah, a constituency that Dr Tan Cheng Bock, now celebrating his 85th birthday, represented in Parliament for 26 years until 2006, when it was absorbed into West Coast GRC. During the last general election, he led a team which contested West Coast and lost narrowly to the incumbent PAP team in the election's tightest race. Five years later, he is back. But with constituency lines redrawn to rope in Jurong Spring and Taman Jurong, a new question hangs in the air: Will the 158,836 voters of the new West Coast-Jurong West GRC still remember the good doctor? This Saturday morning, some clearly do. One resident, Alfred Hong, has brought two pictures from the previous campaign for Dr Tan to sign. The 59-year-old has been living in the area for over two decades, and loves how quiet Teban Gardens is. But what some call serenity, others see as isolation. For a 46-year-old administrative assistant who prefers to be known only as Siti, construction works and a lack of easy access have made daily life harder, especially when taking her wheelchair-bound mother out. Getting to shopping malls in Clementi or Jurong can be inconvenient without a car, she says. 'Maybe it'll be better when the Jurong Region Line opens, but that's so long away.' She remembers Dr Tan as her MP when she was growing up. 'It's nice that he's coming back here again after losing, unlike some others who keep jumping around. But I worry for him because he's already so old,' she says. Just a 15-minute drive from Teban Gardens is Boon Lay Place Market, home to the legendary Boon Lay Power Nasi Lemak, where snaking queues of hungry students and blue-collar workers line up daily for their spicy fix. Nestled near the bustling Jurong industrial estate, Boon Lay is a blend of old and new – ageing HDB blocks sitting comfortably alongside newer housing projects that have sprung up in recent years. Long-time residents remember when the older three-room flats got a major spruce-up nearly two decades ago, with utility rooms added to the back of their kitchens, giving these homes a second lease of life. For people like 68-year-old homemaker Sally Ng, Boon Lay has everything she needs right at her doorstep. 'Just downstairs, I have a wet market, a supermarket for everything I need,' she says in Mandarin. 'If I want to meet my friends, the residents' network is just below. Everyone knows everyone here.' She is confident that her incumbent MP, who leads the PAP team in West Coast GRC – National Development Minister Desmond Lee – will cruise to victory on Polling Day. To her, the sheer turnout at every Meet-the-People Session says it all – residents trust him to get things done. 'The PAP takes such good care of us here, we're very content,' she says matter-of-factly. 'What has the other side offered, really – other than a lot of talk?' But while Ng takes comfort in the familiar rhythms of the neighbourhood and the steady hand of her incumbent MP, a very different political energy is gathering momentum across the island in Punggol. Ask around, and you will find more voters swaying than casuarina trees in a monsoon storm in this GRC. Just a week ago, the air here was subdued, with both the PAP and WP keeping their strategies close to their chest. But on April 26, as a sweltering Saturday morning gives way to a sudden downpour, the mood shifts dramatically. The surprise entry of Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and the WP's Harpreet Singh are the talk of the town, sparking animated conversations in markets and coffee shops. For one educator who declined to give her name, the decision at the ballot is anything but straightforward. Having moved from Choa Chu Kang – where DPM Gan was once her MP – to Punggol four years ago, the 32-year-old now finds herself torn between 'a party with a proven track record and a party that offers hope'. 'I'm a Star Wars fan, so I always feel like you need hope to keep you going,' she says. Polling Day may be around the corner but the mother of two – grimacing as she draws her children closer – admits her vote is 'still up in the air'. Later, on their way to the library, her five-year-old daughter spots the WP's Alia Mattar at One Punggol Hawker Centre, recognising her from the banners in the neighbourhood. She tells her mother she wants a photo with Alia. For Punggol voter Jeffrey Tan, 71, the sudden entry of DPM Gan in the race feels like deja vu. The part-time business consultant had spent 25 years in Aljunied GRC and still remembers the emotional roller coaster of 2011, when the Workers' Party clinched victory and Foreign Minister George Yeo lost his seat. 'When George Yeo lost, I cried. It was a waste because he's a fantastic guy. This could be a repeated tragedy,' he says. But don't mistake his sentimentality for certainty. The surprise entries of senior counsel Harpreet Singh and DPM Gan have left him weighing his options anew. With a wry grin, Tan sums up the mood of many in Punggol: 'You give the voters a headache, you know?' This morning, he spends a long time chatting with Harpreet and fellow WP candidate Jackson Au, praising the WP for doing a 'good job with recruitment'. Yet he also acknowledges that incumbent PAP MP Sun Xueling remains popular, and newcomer Yeo Wan Ling, despite being a first-term MP, has left an impression with her 'bubbly' energy. Tan predicts a razor-thin race in Punggol GRC, with a recount dragging past midnight, possibly making it the last result to be called. When asked about the odds, a 32-year-old media professional – who declined to give his name – shrugs and says: 'Flip a coin.' Another unspoken question lingers: Could there be a spillover effect from the WP's surprise victory in Sengkang in 2020? In fact, several young residents from the adjacent Sengkang GRC have come to the One Punggol community hub, eager for a personal moment with the WP team on a walkabout. Among them is a 24-year-old first-time voter queueing for a bowl of the famous Botak Cantonese Porridge while clutching a copy of Journey In Blue (2020) by the WP's East Coast GRC candidate Yee Jenn Jong which he hopes to get signed. Will the WP's 'eastern strategy' push its momentum all the way up to the north-eastern tip, reaching even Coney Island? Or will the PAP's campaign in Punggol get a decisive lift from DPM Gan, Singapore's 'Task Force Man', at a time of growing global tariff wars? On the ground, residents say the same thing again and again: Municipal issues matter, but so do national ones. Thrust into one of the fiercest political spotlights of this election, they are only too aware of the weight their decision carries. More than ever, their vote feels sacred. And they are taking it seriously. - The Straits Times/ANN
Straits Times
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
GE2025: PAP does not give up any constituency, says SM Teo at walkabout in Aljunied GRC
Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean and PAP's Aljunied GRC candidates interacting with residents at Bedok 538 Market and Food Centre on April 25. ST PHOTO: ISABELLE LIEW GE2025: PAP does not give up any constituency, says SM Teo at walkabout in Aljunied GRC Follow our live coverage here. SINGAPORE - The PAP has fielded candidates in all constituencies across Singapore to make sure that every voter has a choice, said Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean on April 25 at a walkabout in Aljunied GRC. To this end, the party has sent a young, strong team to the constituency to offer residents there a choice, he added. The minister, who will not be contesting in the 2025 general election, had joined the PAP team for the Workers' Party-held constituency at their walkabout at the Bedok 538 Market and Food Centre. At the close of nomination day, a walkover was declared in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, which the Workers' Party had decided not to contest, sparking unhappiness among some voters who were looking forward to voting. Mr Teo did not refer to this, but said at a doorstop interview with the media: 'We field candidates in every constituency in Singapore, good credible candidates… to make sure that every voter has a choice. We don't give up any constituency.' Later, when asked about the WP no-show, he said: 'On Nomination Day, we want to make sure that we offer candidates in every constituency, so that every Singaporean can have the opportunity to vote for a PAP candidate.' The PAP team in Aljunied GRC comprises second-time candidate Chan Hui Yuh, 48, and four new faces, dental surgeon Faisal Abdul Aziz, 37, company director Adrian Ang, 42, urban planning consultancy chief Daniel Liu, 40, and trade unionist Jagathishwaran Rajo, 37. They will be up against the WP's team of Mr Pritam Singh, 48, Ms Sylvia Lim, 60, and Mr Gerald Giam, 47, who will be joined by new faces Kenneth Tiong, 36, and Mr Fadli Fawzi, 44, who had contested Marine Parade GRC under the WP banner in 2020. SM Teo said the new PAP team will bring new expertise, experience and energy to the PAP's slate in this election. 'This is a strong team, a refreshed team, and we hope that you give them your support here. They want to represent you from Parliament, they want to propose constructive ideas - not just to oppose - and they are ready to do so.' He said the candidates want to maintain the towns better and make sure that residents have local initiatives that go beyond what is covered by national schemes. They will also make sure that there's truth, accountability and transparency from all MPs, he added. Responding to a question about going up against the incumbent WP, Mr Jagathishwaran said: 'We came to Aljunied GRC with open eyes because we have the heart to serve the people. This is not a popularity contest.' Dr Faisal was asked about the PAP-branded toothbrushes he was distributing, which had been raised by WP chief Pritam Singh in the opposition party's rally in Sengkang on April 24. 'I'm glad that there's a lot of interest in my toothbrushes,' he said. Mr Singh, in his speech at the rally, had pointed to PAP merchandise such as teddy bears and toothbrushes, and said it was a 'serious error of judgement in timing' given rising inflation. Dr Faisal said that, as a dentist, he decided to give voters something practical and useful, adding that they also serve as good conversation starters. 'I hope we can focus on our campaign and issues that matter because elections are serious,' he added. SM Teo, who entered politics in 1992 and was anchor minister for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, is among 20 PAP MPs who have stepped down, including Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat. Asked why he is retiring, SM Teo said he believes that self-renewal is important for stability in any country. 'This is the process PAP has gone through for several generations, and (we) will do the same thing to help the new generation come forward,' he said. Experienced politicians will share with newcomers their experiences, but put them in the driving seat so that 'they can lead Singapore forward with new energy', he added. The PAP is expected to have a tough fight against WP in Aljunied GRC, where WP managed a near 10-point swing to win with 59.95 per cent of the votes in the Covid-19 polls in 2020. This is despite changes to the WP slate after WP vice-chairman Faisal Manap made a surprise switch to contest in Tampines GRC in this election. The boundaries for Aljunied GRC remain largely unchanged in this election, though three polling districts in Tampines West – comprising 3,834 voters – have been moved to the PAP-held Tampines GRC. Aljunied GRC has 144,298 registered electors as at April 18. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
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CNA
24-04-2025
- Politics
- CNA
GE2025: Goh Meng Seng tells Pritam Singh to 'be humble', accuses Workers' Party of 'abandoning' voters
Singapore The People's Power Party chief slammed his WP counterpart for the second time in as many days, over the opposition party's decision to not contest in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC. 25 Apr 2025 12:12AM (Updated: 25 Apr 2025 12:13AM) SINGAPORE: The People's Power Party's (PPP) chief Goh Meng Seng on Thursday (Apr 24) slammed his Workers' Party counterpart Pritam Singh for the second time in as many days, over the opposition party's decision to not contest and thus pave the way for an unexpected walkover in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC. In a strongly worded speech to open his party's first rally leading up to Singapore's May 3 General Election, Mr Goh asked Mr Singh to "be humble", accused him of betraying voters and questioned if he was fit to be a leader, among several other broadsides fired. "They have abandoned 130,000 voters in Marine Parade. On what good grounds? To come to Tampines for a four-cornered fight? No one in his right mind, I believe, would agree that this is a good strategic move," said Mr Goh. He is helming a PPP slate in a rare four-way contest against the WP, the National Solidarity Party (NSP) and an incumbent People's Action Party team in Tampines GRC. "Why would they do that? I only have one reason in mind … they want to make sure Goh Meng Seng does not go into parliament,' he added. Mr Goh attributed this to the PPP's disagreement with Singapore's mandatory vaccination programme. The opposition party had in 2024 made several calls to suspend COVID-19 vaccination, prompting rebuttals from the Ministry of Health. 'They betrayed 130,000 voters … in Marine Parade just to stop us from getting into parliament to raise this issue," he said. The five-member PAP team for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC was declared elected on Nomination Day after no other candidates submitted their papers. The WP, widely expected to contest in the GRC as it had in 2015 and 2020, did not field a team. Instead of Marine Parade-Braddell Heights, the WP ended up making a play for Tampines – a Group Representation Constituency it has never contested in. Several other opposition parties have also expressed disappointment with WP for the unexpected twist in events. Mr Goh on Wednesday told reporters his party would have contested in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights had the WP not been 'mum about their deployment'. He called the move 'purely irresponsible'. Mr Singh, when asked to respond to Mr Goh's comments on Thursday morning, said the PPP secretary-general 'should focus on the campaign in Tampines'. Come Thursday evening, Mr Goh then kicked off his party's election rally at Temasek Junior College with a near 30-minute tirade of the Workers' Party and Mr Singh, saying this was 'not the first time the WP has abandoned voters'. He claimed that during GE2015, the WP had wanted NSP to step aside in Marine Parade GRC and Macpherson SMC. Mr Goh claimed that NSP gave up Marine Parade, but held on to Macpherson: A three-cornered contest then ensued in the single-member ward, with NSP losing its deposit after garnering only 0.82 per cent of votes. In GE2020, the WP did not contest Macpherson SMC. 'The voters in Macpherson nearly did not have any chance to vote,' said Mr Goh, saying that was why he decided to run in the single-member constituency in that election. He eventually lost to the incumbent Tin Pei Ling who received 71.74 per cent of the votes. People's Power Party secretary-general Goh Meng Seng speaking at a rally at Temasek Junior College on Apr 24, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Raj Nadarajan) Mr Goh said that regardless of his chances of winning an election, he would still contest because he believed in giving voters a choice. 'You should have your right to tell the ruling party what you think about their performance through your votes, and you should have the right to decide who represents you, your vision, your core values in parliament.' Continuing his denunciation of the WP and Mr Singh, Mr Goh, who in 2006 ran under the Workers' Party flag in Aljunied GRC, said the party's latest move showed that it did not respect other opposition parties as well as voters in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC. 'Not a single apology; just excuses, lame excuses,' he said. 'Now the question is this - if WP under Pritam Singh can do this to Marine Parade, can he do the same to you, to Tampines voters?' Adding that a "leopard never changes its spots", Mr Goh said: "He has done that to Macpherson. He has done that to Marine Parade. He will do the same to you.' 'This is what I have to say to Pritam Singh - if one day he becomes the Prime Minister, you will be more PAP than PAP,' he said. 'This is my response to Mr Pritam Singh: Be humble.' Later, when Mr Goh stood to speak again, he said he would be touching on the party's policies going forward, and added: 'Don't ask me about Pritam Singh again. I'm not interested in him. I'm not gay.' It was not clear if anyone in the crowd had made such a request. The PPP is fielding 10 candidates across Tampines and Ang Mo Kio GRCs, where it faces multi-cornered fights. Apart from Mr Goh, seven other candidates rose to speak on a range of issues. They included Ang Mo Kio GRC candidate Martinn Ho, a retired civil servant. The 64-year-old spoke about the need to lower the costs of essential goods and healthcare, as well as to improve job security and support to help younger Singaporeans afford their own homes. PPP's Heng Zheng Dao, a candidate for Ang Mo Kio GRC, speaks at a rally at Temasek Junior College on April 24, 2025. (Photo: CNA/ Raj Nadarajan) Job security was also a concern highlighted by the party's youngest candidate Heng Zheng Dao, 24, who spoke about how immigration policy and artificial intelligence could affect jobs and livelihoods. "In the next five years, we are looking at AI, self-driving cars, which might take out the rice bowl of Grab drivers, food delivery drivers in the next five years,' he told the crowd. 'You all can laugh at Samuel for singing. That's his expression of the pain felt in his heart.' He was referring to fellow PPP candidate Samuel Lee, who went viral for singing about job security concerns at a party press conference on Tuesday. Mr Vere Nathan, part of PPP's Tampines GRC slate, said the opposition party was here to serve and that it has demonstrated that by talking 'about issues no one else is willing to'. 'We are willing to put our necks on the line. People said … maybe we'll lose our deposit but it was because we are fighting for truth,' said the 26-year-old. At the end of the nearly three-hour long rally, Mr Goh challenged his opponents in Tampines GRC to a debate. 'It is only right for all voters in Tampines to know what we stand for,' he said. 'I will pay for this. I will invite all the leaders of the other three parties - Mr Masagos, Mr Faisal Manap and Mr Reno Fong - to sit ... and we will debate about our policies.'
Independent Singapore
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Independent Singapore
'Doesn't mean we're gone,' Pritam Singh reassures Marine Parade residents
SINGAPORE: At The Workers' Party's (WP) first doorstop interview for this year's General Election, Secretary-General Pritam Singh directly addressed one of the most notable developments on Nomination, Day: the WP's decision not to contest the newly formed Marine Parade-Bradell Heights GRC . This effectively gave the People's Action Party (PAP) its first uncontested victory, its first walkover, since 2011. The WP team that had worked on the ground in the area would instead contest in Punggol. Mr Singh, who explained in a post why the WP wasn't contesting the constituency, addressed the residents of Marine Parade-Bradell Heights directly, assuring them that it did not mean the opposition party had left them high and dry. 'I seek the understanding and forbearance in Marine Parade-Bradell Heights,' he said. 'It doesn't mean we're gone. We'll continue our work there after the General Elections, but I hope you understand we're a small political party. We try and put the best foot forward when we have to fight in an election campaign, and this is the strategy that we have taken for these elections, given what has happened with the boundary redrawing and other calculations that the Workers' Party certainly has to take into account.' He later reiterated that he sought understanding from residents regarding the matter, but underlined that the WP 'has to move forward in this campaign.' The WP's choice not to stand at Marine Parade-Bradell Heights, which is explained at length here , had been made 'with a heavy heart,' Mr Singh explained, calling it 'a very difficult decision for us.' The Workers' Party was active in the area before 2015, and first contested Marine Parade GRC in 2015 when it lost to the PAP. In GE 2011, WP candidate Yee Jenn Jong lost at Joo Chiat SMC by only 388 votes. In the next election cycle, Joo Chiat was incorporated into Marine Parade GRC. This year, however, Joo Chiat was taken out of Marine Parade GRC and put into East Coast GRC, while MacPherson SMC and other estates were included in the newly formed Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC. The WP is fielding a team at East Coast GRC headed by Mr Yee . While many online have said they understood the WP's decision not to contest at Marine Parade-Braddell Heights, it did not go over as well in some quarters. Former WP member Goh Meng Seng, the head of the People's Power Party (PPP), called it 'purely irresponsible'. 'If they had made known they were going to abandon Marine Parade, we would have been game enough to say … We will move on to pick it up,' he added . Others, however, have argued that the blame should be laid on this year's 'radical redrawing of boundaries'. 'We have no doubt that but for gerrymandering, WP's Marine Blue would have entered the arena and fought valiantly. If there was a walkover in a constituency where the Big 3 didn't contest, it wouldn't hurt as much. It hurts because we know the quality and calibre that the WP can offer voters,' a netizen countered. 'We know the odds are often stacked against the opposition! It has never been a level playing field. But with faith, sincerity, and hard work, you've proven time and again that you're a trusted opposition party,' another wrote. 'Concentrate on the deployment of the limited resources. Wise move… Slowly expand outwards. I believe voters have eyes to see,' a Facebook user wrote. /TISG Read also: After 10 years, PAP wins a seat by walkover as WP declines to pursue Marine Parade
Straits Times
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Opposition parties upset that WP pulled out of Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC
SINGAPORE – Several opposition parties have expressed displeasure with WP for not contesting Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC leading to an unexpected walkover, the first at a general election since 2011. WP was expected to field a team in this constituency, as it had contested Marine Parade GRC in 2020 and won 42.26 per cent of the vote. Hours after a five-member PAP team in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC won unopposed on April 23, some opposition parties took to social media or spoke to media outlets to voice their opinions. Mr Goh Meng Seng, secretary-general of People's Power Party (PPP) , said in a Facebook post : 'WP was the last minute spoiler party, (who was) willing to sacrifice 130,000 voters' rights in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights, just to get into a four-cornered fight!' This four-cornered fight will take place in Tampines GRC, where the WP, PPP and National Solidarity Party (NSP) will go up against the incumbent PAP team led by Social and Family Development Minister Masagos Zulkifli. Mr Goh, 55 , was responding to a reporter's claim that PPP's Tampines team was short of assentors up till the night before Nomination Day on April 23. He added that PPP's candidates' and assentors' names were 'properly printed' on its nomination papers, and claimed that WP had the 'least number of assentors among all contesting parties', in addition to having written the names and particulars of its candidates by hand. Similarly, PPP's chairman Derrick Sim said he could not believe that WP had pulled out from Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, adding that his team was 'dumbfounded'. In a Facebook post on April 23, Mr Sim, 44 , noted that WP had never contested in Tampines since the party was formed in 1988, while it had consistently contested and walked the ground in Marine Parade for over a decade. Adding that WP's 'star candidate' Harpreet Singh was frequently spotted in Marine Parade, Mr Sim said: 'And now, WP totally abandoned all that ground effort to parachute into Tampines – a GRC where multiple teams had already confirmed their intentions early on, and even made public statements.' ''Strategic move'? Sorry, but that's a lame excuse. Letting in five seats even before the contest starts,' he said. Besides these candidates from PPP, the secretary-general of the Singapore People's Party (SPP) Steve Chia also issued a media response on the issue on April 23. Mr Chia, 54 , said SPP was 'indeed surprised' by WP's decision to not contest Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, especially given WP's active ground engagement in the constituency since the election in 2020. He added: 'This walkover, the first since 2011, marks an unexpected turn in what was anticipated to be a keenly contested race.' 'We share the disappointment felt by many residents who were looking forward to a robust democratic process with diverse voices and choices at the ballot box.' Noting that SPP believes that every constituency benefits from active competition since it fosters greater accountability, Mr Chia said his party respects strategic choices made by other parties but regrets that voters in the constituency would not have the chance to express their preferences through the polls. Speaking to the media regarding PSP's candidacy in West Coast-Jurong West GRC on April 23, PSP chief Leong Mun Wai also commented that the party found it 'slightly disappointing' that there was a walkover in a group representation constituency during GE2025. 'PSP believes that we should give Singaporeans a chance to experience the democratic process, we should not have (a) walkover, so that is a bit disappointing, but I suppose there are valid reasons why that happened,' he said. Before comments from these opposition parties streamed in, WP chief Pritam Singh shared on Facebook that not contesting Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC was 'a very difficult decision' for the party. He published the post 15 minutes after nomination proceedings ended at 12.30pm on April 23. Thanking residents in the constituency for their support, Mr Singh noted that Joo Chiat SMC was drawn out of Marine Parade GRC into East Coast GRC, while MacPherson SMC and other estates were pulled into the new Marine-Parade Braddell-Heights GRC by the Electoral Boundary Review Committee. 'It is with a heavy heart I share that The Workers' Party will not stand in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC for these general elections,' he added. 'As a small opposition party, we are constantly faced with difficult choices about where and how best to deploy our limited resources, particularly after electoral boundaries are redrawn.' 'After much reflection and careful consideration, we have determined that in order to continue fighting for the principles and changes we all believe in, and to give our candidates the best chance of electoral success, the Party must focus its best efforts this GE on a smaller number of constituencies than we would have hoped to contest.' More on this Topic PAP retains Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC as WP pulls out; first walkover since 2011 Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
